The Trip
by LasVegasSarah
Summary: Catherine and Sara are forced on a Journey across the world... Things are about to get difficult! Cath/Sara, Rated M for later. ;P   Chapter 7 is up now! Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note: This has been written for about a week and half but balancing a 60 hour week and finding the time to finalize it was a bit difficult, hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! :(**

**Rating: M for later ;P**

"It's on the other side of the world Gil!" Catherine argued as she paced back and forth in front of his Desk.

"Catherine." Grissom warned with a slight sigh.

"No!" She interrupted with a snarl, "I have a teenage daughter who is rebellious enough as it is without me gallivanting half-way around the world!"

"Catherine!" Gil raised his voice slightly, if only to be heard over Catherine's already half-hour rant, "you've been working on this case for over a month, do you really want someone else cracking your case?"

"No!" Catherine shouted, surprising herself and Sara who had been sitting quietly for the last half hour on the settee behind Catherine's pacing body. "Shit." Catherine flopped down on the settee beside Sara, knowing she'd been defeated by her own stubbornness. "She already hates me."

"She's a teenager," Sara patted Catherine's leg, "She's programmed to hate you."

"I guess." Catherine huffed.

"Then it's settled." Grissom smiled proudly and tapped the case file in front of him, "You're going to London, England."

"Is the Department going to pay for this?" Sara tilted her head.

"It was suggested, that you both spend more time together." Gil tested the water, "Where better than in a strange country, working together on a case?"

Both women shrugged their agreement and left his office, turning their separate ways without a word.

**X X X X**

_**Flight day**_

**_Catherine's House_**

"I'll be fine, Mom." Lindsey groaned, rolling her eyes.

"make sure you eat enough, and don't forget to do your homework!" Catherine raised an eyebrow and tucked a stray blonde hair behind Lindsey's ear.

"Mom!" Came the growl in response as she un-tucked the stray hair again, "I'll be fine!"

"Behave yourself, OK?" Catherine pointed a finger.

"Bye Mom!" Lindsey rolled her eyes as she shut the door behind Catherine.

**_Sara's Apartment_**

Sara took one last look around the bare walls of her apartment before checking one last time that she had definitely packed everything she'd need. A forensics journal caught her eye and she quickly made room for it in her hand luggage.

**_Later… on the plane_**

Catherine tried her hardest to calm the trembling her body was partaking in. It didn't go unnoticed, however; Sara had realised at the air port that Catherine quite obviously wasn't comfortable flying, but chose to pretend to be oblivious. She knew Catherine couldn't stand anyone seeing her at her most vulnerable. She was a strong woman, she couldn't allow herself to show any weakness.

Sara continued to flick absent-mindedly through her Forensics Journal, but secretly watched the older woman in her peripheral. As the engines started, Catherine gripped the arm rests and pressed her head back in to the head rest, closing her eyes.

"hey," Sara grabbed the attention of the passing Stewardess, "Could I get a Mineral Water, and a Scotch for her?" She nodded towards the stiff woman beside her.

"Sure Darlin." The 36-24-36 Stewardess drawled with a wink.

"Thanks." Catherine said quickly before holding her breath again.

"You know," Sara started, "You shouldn't hold your breath like that."

"It helps." Came the quick reply.

"You'll go a strange colour," Sara tried again, "you're much more attractive the colour you are now." Appealing to her Vanity.

Catherine opened her eyes and raised an eyebrow.

"Your water," a voice interrupted. Sara looked up and smiled her thanks, "and your Scotch." Catherine graciously took the glass and watched a short exchange of awkward flirtatious glances between Sara and the pristine woman, before the Stewardess handed her a piece of paper - which no doubt held her phone number. After she'd disappeared a considerable distance down the aisle, Catherine coughed to attract Sara's attention.

"What?" Sara grinned, blushing slightly.

"What was that?" Catherine laughed, suddenly more occupied with the interesting exchange she had just witnessed to think about the fact that the plane was about to take off.

"That?" Sara feigned ignorance, avoiding eye contact, "Oh, that, that was nothing."

The blush creeping across Sara's neck suggested otherwise.

"So… what?" Catherine asked, her jaw hitting the floor, "You're in to women?"

Sara laughed, and then coughed nervously, before placing a hand over her eyes for a moment.

"Is that a problem?" She finally asked.

"No!" Catherine nearly shouted, grinning, "Course not! I just wish I'd known!" She suddenly realised that she knew very little about her co-worker.

"You never asked." Sara shrugged casually.

Catherine pondered a moment. "But what about Grissom?"

"I liked him," Sara started, "but for his mind. It was nice while it lasted I guess, but I'm not attracted to men generally."

"Wow." Catherine sighed, leaning back again. "This trip is already turning out to be different to what I was expecting."

**Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for lasting until this point! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for reading :)**

Chapter Two

Thankfully there hadn't been a 'mix-up' at the Hotel and as the two women entered their Twin Room, they shared a quiet knowing look - both relieved to have a bed to themselves. Dropping their cases at the doorway, they both collapsed on to their single beds- Sara automatically taking the one by the door in a subconscious alpha-male role, leaving the one by the window for Catherine.

"You know," Sara yawned, "we should probably try to sleep some of this Jet-Lag off; we have to be at the lab in four hours."

When she didn't get a reply she rolled over on to her side to be greeted by a sleeping Catherine.

_She looks so beautiful. _she thought to herself. _I'm pretty sure I don't look that beautiful when half of my face is screwed up and there's a line of saliva from my mouth to my pillow. On Catherine, it's endearing. _She shook the thoughts from her mind and started to drift off.

**X X X**

"_Are you sleeping?" Came a whisper through the darkness._

_Sara rolled on to her side. A crack in the curtain shone a pale yellow light on Catherine's face and her cerulean eyes pierced the darkness. _

"_Not anymore." She finally answered. How could she sleep knowing that there was a truly beautiful woman on the other side of the room? A woman she'd spent so much time distancing herself from publicly, but secretly dreaming of her. _

"_I had a bad dream." Catherine whispered as she pulled the blanket further up to rest around her chin. _

"_What happened?" Sara asked, ever the analyst. _

"_I don't want to say," Came the hesitant reply, "but I don't think I can go back to sleep."_

_Sara sensed that Catherine needed comfort, but also knew that pride would never allow her to ask. _

"_I'll keep you safe." Sara smiled, lifting her blanket and gesturing her to join her._

_Catherine hesitated, but eventually got up gingerly and climbed in to the bed beside the younger woman._

Catherine shook the sleeping woman slightly.

"I'll keep you safe." Sara mumbled as she woke.

"You Can't do that if you're asleep." Catherine chuckled as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Huh?" Sara groaned, her voice low from sleep.

"You can't keep me safe if you're asleep." Catherine grinned.

Sara sat up quickly and rubbed her head. Clearly sharing a room with the object of her affections was not an option. She had to change the sleeping arrangements, if not for the sake of their 'firnedship' but for her own sanity.

**X X X**

Sara shifted in her seat and glanced over to Catherine who was equally as disturbed by the file in front of them. She hated seeing the older woman distressed by anything, she only wished she could be the woman to make everything better. When Sara had first arrived in Las Vegas she had developed a small 'crush' on the older woman; her power, strong will and elegance were the exact personality traits she had always looked for in a woman. No one she had ever dated before even came close to the perfection she saw in Catherine. A few years on, and there had been a few serious relationships, but she just couldn't get Catherine out of her mind. This is when the small 'crush' became love. She tried to keep her distance mostly, and their heated arguments helped her keep that distance. The last thing she wanted to be doing was sharing a room with the older woman.

"Sara?" She awoke from her thoughts.

"Sorry?" Sara shook her head.

"I said," Catherine started again, "We found a hair on the last Jane Doe, right?"

"Uh, Yeah." Sara answered hesitantly, trying to regain her composure, "Yeah, it didn't match the Vic, or any of the suspects we originally had, but it did match a dry patch of saliva on the first Vic's sweater."

"But you haven't been able to match it on CODIS?" The attractive slightly older blonde on the other side of the table reiterated.

"No." Both Sara and Catherine answered together.

"And that's when you matched the similarities in your cases to ours?" The blonde asked.

"yeah," Sara answered, "That, and a few witnesses remember a British man in the area they haven't seen since."

"I have to admit," The blonde began with a smirk, "It's a long shot. However, I am intrigued." She raised an eyebrow and flashed an eye towards Sara before turning to the coffee machine. "You Ladies must need a caffeine boost by now." Sara blushed and agreed quietly.

Catherine hadn't missed the exchange; she was paid to notice.

_Why don't I get this kind of attention? Do I really look that untouchable? I'm not saying that I would act on it if a woman did flirt with me, but it would be nice to have the option! _She thought to herself, _It must be Sara's smile. The gap in her teeth is endearing. She looks tough, and acts it too, but it's always a little sexy, I guess. I suppose her jeans look good on her, it's not something I would wear, but it definitely hugs in the all the right places. Damn, her ass looks tight in those jeans! _She stopped herself for a moment, realising that she had heard her name.

"Catherine?" The Blonde questioned, "How do you take it?"

"Tight." Catherine mumbled.

"What?" Both women laughed.

"Sorry!" Catherine choked, "Erm, Milk no sugar, I have to use the Ladies room."

Catherine quickly left the room and almost ran down the corridor.

**Chapter three in being written as we speak...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**Thank you all for reading! :) I'm just so pleased that I got both alerts and a review! Thank you! I'm just really pleased that people are actually reading it! Thank you sooo much! This chapter is dedicated to all of you reading this, and my wonderful Girlfriend who has been very patient and reading through it for me (and is currently baking me banana bread!) :)**

"Shit!" Catherine slammed the cubicle door shut and sat on the toilet lid. She hid her face in her hands as she felt the first tears prick her eyes. She wasn't sure how long it had been going on, but she knew she'd been ignoring all the signs that had been thrown her way. She'd ignored the way her eyes wandered over Sara's form whenever she wore the jeans in question. She'd ignored the way a blush crept up her neck whenever Sara smiled a gap-toothed smile her way. She'd ignored the fact that images of Sara's face filled her mind when she came. She couldn't ignore it anymore. When it had crawled from her mind, to fall out of her mouth like that, in public, it was time to admit to herself that she was experiencing maybe a little more than a crush on Sara Sidle. When she heard the bathroom door open, she held her sobs.

"Catherine?" Came the all-too familiar voice. The older woman quickly wiped her face and stood up.

"Yeah?" She tried, in her best attempt at sounding 'fine'.

"Are you OK?" Sara asked just as Catherine opened the cubicle door.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Catherine smiled a false smile.

"Uh, because you've been crying." Sara stated, waving a hand in the direction of her face. Catherine brushed her hand away from her face and pushed past Sara to make her way to the sink. She hadn't meant to be so dismissive, but she felt threatened by the woman of her dreams, and the idea that she might have heard her embarrassing comment in the lab.

"Leave it." She warned.

Never the one to submit, Sara continued pushing the subject. "Let me help you."

"Trust me," Catherine laughed bitterly, "_You _are the last person who can help me."

Sara stepped forward, automatically broadening her shoulders. "What do you mean by that?"

"Just, leave it!" Catherine snapped, flicking the tap off and trying to push past her younger counterpart again.

"No! If you're gonna call me on something, you should at least have the conviction to follow it through!" Sara growled, before Catherine used the adrenaline-fuelled strength she'd suddenly acquired to move Sara from her path and leave the bathroom and the woman who filled her mind.

"Fuck." Sara looked at the door for a moment before kicking the wall behind her. The last thing she wanted to be doing on this trip was having one of her legendary spats with the one and only Catherine Willows. They'd been more than civil recently, friendly even. Now they were alone in a strange city, and arguing like nothing in the years they'd known each other had ever changed.

"Sara?" a hand waved in front of her face. Sara had been so lost in her thoughts that she had completely missed Liz entering the toilets.

"Oh," Sara coughed, "Erm, Sorry. What?"

"You Ladies live in a completely different world don't you?" Liz giggled.

"Sorry," Sara reiterated with a coy smile, "What's up?"

"That's what I was coming to find out." The older blonde smiled back. Sara caught a look of genuine concern in her face and immediately warmed to her.

"Did you see Catherine?" Sara inquired, nervously biting her lip.

"Yes." Liz sighed, "You two fall out?"

"I guess." Sara stated with a puzzled expression.

"You like her." Liz whispered with a curl of her lip.

"Huh?" Sara almost jumped, "What? She's my friend. Maybe not a friend, a colleague, an acquaintance maybe. If that's what you meant. I like her as a friend; acquaintance, and she has a brilliant mind. She's a great CSI, and she's very attractive, but I don't see her out of work, and she's straight. And now I'm babbling."

"Oh dear," Liz giggled, "You _do _like her."

"Aw man," Sara sighed, "I got it bad."

"Come on, let's go for a drink." Liz smiled offering an arm to the younger CSI.

**X X X**

"So," Liz began, taking a sip from her wine glass, the pink liquid perfectly complimenting her blush, "How long have you known Catherine?"

"Oh, uh, years, I guess, eight years?" Sara grimaced.

"And how long have you been in love with her?" Liz grinned.

"I never said I was in love with her." the younger woman coughed and took a large drink of her beer. Liz didn't say anything but just raised an eyebrow, "eight years."

"Wow." Liz shook her head and blinked a few times, "and Catherine knows, but just wants to 'stay friends'."

"Uh," Sara cringed, "She doesn't know."

"Wow." Liz laughed, "You need help, Darling."

Sara groaned and put her head in her hands, "I know."

After a brief silence Liz finally spoke. "What are you going to do about it?" she asked gently.

"There's nothing I _can _do." Sara sighed, "She's straight, beautiful, intelligent and hates me. I couldn't be any further down her list."

"She doesn't hate you." Came the reply.

"You've seen nothing; she hates me." Sara dismissed.

"She definitely doesn't hate you. She cares a great deal for you, Sara." Liz places a hand on Sara's, and smiled a comforting smile. Sara couldn't believe how open she was being with this complete stranger.

"How would you know?" Sara raised an eyebrow.

"I've seen it." she retorted with a simple smile, "did you actually hear her response to how she likes her coffee?"

"She takes her coffee with Milk, no Sugar." Sara said matter-of-factly.

Liz burst in to fits of laughter, which of course Sara didn't really appreciate. "You really do 'got it bad' Miss Sidle!"

"What?" Sara sat upright, "Don't mock me!"

"No! Sara, Catherine takes her coffee tight; but only when she's looking at your tight arse in those jeans!"

Sara blushed a crimson and shifted in her seat. "I said don't mock me."

"I'm not mocking you, I'm being completely honest with you! She couldn't tear her eyes away from you! If she was a man, she'd have been drooling!" Liz laughed, spilling a little of her wine on her skirt.

"You imagined it." Sara scoffed.

"I didn't imagine it, Sara, if I'm going to be totally honest, I was looking too, it's a fine arse you have there, but my attention was suddenly caught by Catherine's line of vision." Sara felt a new blush creep across her neck and dropped her head a little, "Hey, seriously, I thought I was in, but now I know no one else stands a chance! I don't think there's room in your heart for anyone else!"

"Wow." Sara sat back with a long sigh. "I think you know me better than I know myself."

"I'm paid to notice." Liz smiled briefly, "and so is Catherine, don't be surprised if she's known all along."

**X X X **

Sara crept down the corridor, trying her hardest to be as quiet as possible, but the alcohol she had consumed threatened to blow her cover. She bounced a little on one wall and staggered to the one opposite, all the while still trying to retrieve her keys from her jacket pocket. She passed the door to their hotel room before she found her keys, and gave the door a few doors down a puzzled look before realising her mistake. Moving back to the correct door, she fumbled with her keys, and dropped them on the carpet. Bending down to pick them up, she toppled to one side and ended up sprawled across the corridor, and being greeted by an angry Willows.

"Hi Catherine." Sara whispered with a finger over her lips in a trying-to-be-quiet stance.

"Where have you been?" Catherine yelled, not at all concerned by the other rooms on the floor they were on.

"Shhh." Sara hiccupped, "It's bed time, quiet voice." Sara attempted to get up and fell on all fours at Catherine's feet.

"It was bed time a long time ago, who have you been drinking with?" Catherine was scolding Sara as if she were Lindsey.

"Liz, she's cool. You know, in her pencil skirt and blazer and shirt, she might look a little stiff, but give her two bottles of wine and she's really cool!" Sara held on to the wall as she finally managed to pull herself up.

"You were drinking all night with Liz?" Catherine snapped, "and I was sat in the hotel room all night alone?"

"Catherine! If you'd been there I wouldn't have been able to talk about you!" Sara slurred matter-of-factly and she staggered past Catherine in to the room before collapsing on to her bed. Catherine slammed the door and followed her.

"What do you mean 'talk about me'?" She asked, suddenly more interested. Sara's eyes started to roll and Catherine knew she's be asleep soon.

"Well, Liz looked at my ass in the lab," Sara slurred, "did you know my ass is tight?"

"I may have noticed." Catherine said carefully, not enjoying where this conversation was going.

"Yeah, Liz said you had, and you like your coffee- milk, no sugar, and tight. I think I like wine more than I like coffee." Sara babbled to a look of utter mortification on Catherine's face. "Liz is nice, but not as nice as you."

"Well that's nice to know." Catherine moved toward where Sara lay, realising that she wasn't going to get any sense out of her tonight. She helped her remove her jeans, trying her hardest not to look. She didn't want to feel as if she was taking advantage of Sara in any way, shape or form, while she was in this state. As she tucked her up under the blankets, feeling a lot less angry with her, her mind raced over everything she'd said.

_Why were they talking about me? Did Sara hear my comment or did Liz tell her? _She thought before her train of thought was interrupted.

"Eight years is a long time to love someone." Sara mumbled as she began to fall asleep.

**X X X**

**Thankyou for getting this far, hopefully I'll stay on this roll for a while longer, long enough to write a few more chapters at least! Thank you for reading! x x x x**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry you had to wait a little longer for this one! Again, I'd like to thank you all for your awesome support! Feels really nice to know that people are enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it! :) Love you all! xxx**

**Chapter Four**

_Eight years is a long time to love someone? _Catherine mused in the darkness of the silent hotel room. Sara had been sleeping for around an hour, but Catherine couldn't switch off. She'd switched sides twice and turned the lamp on and off, but neither had done the trick. Sara stirred across the room but didn't wake; she furrowed her brows and licked her lips, causing Catherine to smile weakly. She couldn't help thinking that Sara was hiding something from her. _Why would she tell me anyway? _she thought, _It's not like we have any kind of close friendship. Sure we've been closer recently, but we're not BFFs or anything. AND who has she loved for eight years? She said that 'generally' she goes for women, _She pondered a few moments, putting her investigative mind to good use, _Oh my! Sofia! It has to be! Come to think of it, Sofia could be in to women too. She has mentioned men to me, in passing, but I've never seen her with anyone. Sara is in love with Sofia! _It didn't take Catherine long to fall in to a deep sleep now confident that she had solved the 'case of Sara's mystery love'.

The alarm blared on the bed-side table and Sara scowled at it. She made an effort to reach for it, but her vision was off and it took a few attempts to actually hit to snooze button. She rolled over slowly and waited for the room to stop spinning before reopening her eyes.

"Ugh." she groaned, frowning at the grey sky she could only barely see through the gap in the curtain. When her groan didn't illicit a response from Catherine, she did it again. "Ugh." Still, she received no answer to her self-deprecating hangover noises, so she turned over. Catherine's bed was empty. Sitting up slowly, she looked around the room. It was 6am, Catherine surely wouldn't go to work that early.

"Catherine?" She called out, thinking maybe that she was in the bathroom. No answer.

_What happened last night? Did I do or say something to upset her? Ugh. I shouldn't have drank that last bottle of beer. _

Moments later, her head hit the toilet seat as she rid her body of the toxins she had consumed the night before.

"You're here early Catherine." Came Sara's familiar drawl from behind her.

"So are you, considering." Catherine replied.

"Look," Sara started, as she watched Catherine spin around from her locker to face her, an unimpressed look gracing her face, "I'm sorry for last night. I didn't mean to drink so much, and I promise, I'm paying for it today."

An amused smile crept on to Catherine's lips as she began to speak, "Hey, it's OK, it must be really difficult living with the knowledge that you've loved someone you can't have for eight years. You needed to let off some steam, I understand."

Sara's pace quickened and for a moment she looked like a deer in headlights. "Uh," she stuttered inelegantly.

"It's OK!" Catherine laughed a little, "A very attractive body, beautiful bright blue eyes, and a kick-ass attitude, what's not to like?" A small wink and Catherine was gone.

_What just happened? _Sara sat down in shock, _What did I tell Catherine last night? Does she know? _She put her head between her legs to stop herself hyperventilating.

**X X X**

"Good morning Mrs Willows." Came a chipper voice from behind her.

"Good isn't the word I'd use, and morning isn't a word I'm used to." Catherine replied with a raspy voice as she cradled her coffee. Her exchange with Sara had given her a little to think about. She was definitely a little disappointed that Sara liked Sofia. She couldn't really work out why Sofia, and not her. She was perfectly proportioned, and she was well aware of the fact that she was definitely attractive; she used it to her own advantage on occasion. She had, however, not been the nicest to Sara over the years. Argument after argument probably hadn't helped. .

"What are you doing here so early?" Liz asked as she sat on the settee beside her, with her own mug of the steaming Arabica.

"I couldn't sleep." Came the simple answer. "Why are _you _here so early? Weren't you drinking last night?"

Liz laughed a little, "Oh yes, but not as much as Sara admittedly."

"Hmm," Catherine raised an eyebrow, "Not difficult."

An awkward silence settled between the two women, as they sipped their coffees.

"So…" Liz started, "Willows isn't your maiden name."

Catherine spun to look at her, a puzzled expression gracing her adorable face.

"What?"

"You didn't think I'd have you come all the way to England without checking up on you did you?" Liz smiled.

Catherine smiled knowingly; she had to admit that she'd have done the same, still it didn't sit right.

"OK, so what _do _you know?" Catherine asked slowly, suddenly a little concerned.

"Hmm," Liz teased, "You're the daughter of a 'Mob Boss'" She started, trying her best American accent, "who was shot a few years back, you have a teenage daughter, Lindsey, you were a stripper and you _were _married."

"First of all," Catherine started, attitude dripping from every movement of her index finger which was pointed at Liz, "My father was _NOT _a Mob Boss, he was a Casino Owner, and I was an exotic dancer, not a stripper." Catherine was secretly quite enjoying that someone had taken the time to look her up, and pushed for more, "and…?"

"_And _you used the lab to perform a Paternity test for personal use, and you secretly like Sara Sidle." Liz stated flatly.

"Whoa!" Catherine almost shrieked, "What?"

"I said, you secretly like Sara." Liz grinned as she put her coffee to her lips.

"I'm straight." Catherine snapped, completely confident that it was enough to stop the questions and the psychoanalysing.

"Yeah, and so am I." Liz giggled, "Seriously Catherine, if you leave it much longer it'll be too late."

Catherine frowned, then opened her mouth to speak. When she couldn't think of anything to say, she shut it again. "If you don't go for her, I will." Liz winked as she left the break room.

"Sara likes Sofia!" Catherine shouted after Liz.

_How dare she? _Catherine growled as she lost herself in angry thought, _She knows nothing of my life! Or who I like or don't like! She has no right to bring up my past like that, and certainly no right to suggest my sexuality is anything other than what it is… even if it's true. Shit. If she can see it, who else can see it? Am I really that transparent? Shit. _Her thoughts were interrupted by a cough.

"Cath?" Sara smiled weakly.

Catherine's heart fluttered at the sound of Sara calling her Cath. Only Eddie had ever called her that.

"Hey." She smiled back.

"There's a nice restaurant a few miles out I thought it'd be nice for Lunch, if you're up for it?" She asked bashfully. If she had started twisting her foot and clasping her hands behind her back, she wouldn't have looked any more bashful than she already did.

"Sure," Catherine grinned, "Hopefully by then, we should have word from Trace."

"Cool," Sara started as she entered the room and picked up the case file. "I've rented a bike, so we can get around easier."

"A bike?" Catherine laughed, putting a hand up, "_I_ do _not cycle."_

"_You won't have to." Sara assured her with an arm around her shoulders, making Catherine gasp a little under her breath._

"_Please tell me you haven't got us a Tandem!" Catherine laughed heartily._

"_Something like that." Sara smiled inwardly._

**_Woo you all know what's coming next!_**


	5. Chapter 5

_**My word! Apologies to everyone who waited obediently for this next chapter! Life has been hectic, moving from one city to another and working every hour of the day etc so I haven't had a lot of time! Thank you to those of you who have been reading this while I've been away, receiving your alerts is always lovely and has also kind of pushed me in to finishing this chapter! (It's not great though) I don't know when the next chapter will be written, but i'll try my hardest! Anyway, thank you for reading and staying with me! Love you all! Sarah x**_

The fluorescent lighting in the lab flickered slightly and threatened to turn Catherine's headache into a thunderous migraine. She rubbed her temples as she tried her hardest to concentrate on the same case notes and photographs she had been staring at for the past three hours. As she bumped in to Liz for the fourth time in as many minutes, she sighed and dropped in to a chair.

"You'd think she'd been gone hours." Liz chuckled.

"Huh?" Catherine replied, genuinely not hearing the previous statement.

"She's only been gone half an hour." Liz sat down beside the obviously exhausted red-head.

"If we continue getting no further forward here, I _will _have a migraine." Catherine smiled weakly, ignoring the last comment.

"It's nearly lunch, Catherine." The blonde began, "We're not getting anywhere without word from trace."

"Sara should be here to take me to lunch soon," Catherine immediately relaxed in to the sentence, and it didn't go unnoticed; Liz gave another giggle, "What now?" Catherine tensed up again, and gritted her teeth.

"You Ladies need to sort this out." Liz smiled broadly.

"There's nothing to 'sort out'." Catherine sighed, beginning to bore of the same conversation. If she herself didn't know what she needed or wanted even, how was a stranger supposed to know? "Look, Sara and I have a volatile relationship at the best of times. Even if I felt that way about her, and I'm not saying I do, it wouldn't work, and who's to say that she loves me back? Not... that I love her for her to love me back. I said _love._ I meant like. Ohhh, fuck."

"Oh sweetheart!" Liz managed between laughing, "You and Sara _both _rambled like that about each other."

"I fail to see the humour." Catherine stated flatly as she stood from her position. She often stood when she felt uncomfortable; it made her feel taller than everyone else. Liz wasn't fazed by it.

"Catherine Darling, the sooner you admit it to yourself, the sooner your life will greatly improve." She sighed before suddenly remembering something Sara had said the previous night, "Catherine, eight years is a long time to love someone."

This stopped Catherine in her tracks. She turned to look at Liz, her azure eyes saying more than words ever could.

"Sara said that last night."

"She's tearing herself apart Catherine; she's in pieces. How is she ever supposed to get over a beautiful, intelligent woman like you?" She oozed sincerity.

Catherine's throat dried as she attempted to come up with an intelligent statement to silence the conversation she didn't want to be having. Instead, she raised her eyes to meet Liz's own, and bit her lip.

"You really do love her, don't you?" Liz smiled weakly.

"I," Catherine stuttered, "I don't know what to think, there _is _something, but is it love? I think about her all of the time, staying in the same hotel room has been hell. I loved Eddie, but this feels different."

"How?" Liz queried, gesturing for Catherine to sit down.

"I don't know!" Catherine was beginning to feel exhausted by the whole situation, "The fact that she's a woman doesn't bother me in the slightest, I guess I might be scared."

"Scared of what?" Liz placed a hand on her leg in an attempt to calm her, but it had the opposite effect.

"I'm scared that if I have her, I might loose her." Catherine finally answered, quietly.

"Is that worse than never having her at all?"

**X X X**

The cold breeze blew under Catherine's shirt as she hugged it tighter to herself. She'd been waiting outside for ten minutes, but Sara was due any second. She couldn't work out if she was nervous or excited by the prospect of seeing Sara again. She had just recovered from a minor melt-down; Sara being at the heart of it, and had made some pretty huge decisions. She just hoped Sara really felt the same way. A loud engine roared, and a red motorbike caught Catherine's eye. She watched it for a second, but lost interest as she waited for Sara to arrive. It wasn't until the Yamaha FZ1 Fazer, came to a roaring halt directly in front of her that she realised her ride was more than a push-bike.

Turning off the engine, Sara took off her helmet and did an amusing display of shaking her hair out as she winked and blew a kiss at the older woman. What she didn't realise was that Catherine quite enjoyed it.

"So..?" Sara grinned as she gestured to the beast between her legs.

"Oh my God." Was all Catherine managed to say before she blushed a deep crimson.

Sara giggled and tossed a helmet in Catherine's direction. "I've been told that there are only two ways to really see London, but one of them involves an open-top bus full of tourists, I much preferred this idea!"

Catherine looked at the helmet in her hands in awe. In her rebellious youth, she had often dreamed of riding a motorbike with one of her no-good boyfriends, but this one appealed to her more than the others ever had; more-so because sat astride the engine was a beautiful woman of whom she'd imagined straddling a million times before.

"Are you with me?" Sara chided.

"Oh I am _so _with you!" Catherine grinned as she pulled on her helmet and gracefully mounted the bike behind Sara.

"Hold on!" Sara shouted as she restarted the engine.

Catherine did as she was told and wrapped her arms around Sara's waist, relishing the feeling it gave her. What she didn't realise was that Sara was finding it extremely difficult to concentrate being in such close proximity to Catherine. As they rounded a corner, Catherine couldn't hold in her excitement any longer and as she threw back her head, let out a loud squeal of delight. Sara laughed to herself.

"Are you alright back there?" She shouted over her shoulder.

"Are you kidding?" Catherine screamed, "Faster!"

"You asked for it!" Sara growled in return, revving the engine and speeding around the cars that stood still in the lunch-time traffic. Catherine leant back and took in the scenery before a quick lunge caused her to lose balance slightly and grip Sara's waist tighter. "Are you OK?"

"Fine!" Catherine gasped, nuzzling her head in to Sara's back for a moment before moving up towards her neck. They slowed down a little. "This is Sexy as hell." She murmured quietly. She wasn't aware if Sara had heard or not but didn't mind either way. Sara watched her in the mirror and smiled, unbeknownst to the older woman holding her.

Another five minutes of traffic and they turned off the main roads and down a smaller street before parking in front of a small Restaurant.

"Here." Sara smiled as she turned off the engine and took off her helmet.

"Here?" Catherine frowned as she mirrored Sara in the removal of her helmet.

"Don't look at me like that!" Sara laughed, "I've been told that this is the best Vegetarian Restaurant in the City Centre." Demounting the bike she held out her hand for Catherine's balance. "We're not in Vegas Catherine."

"Thank God for that!" Catherine smiled as she leant forward, planting a soft kiss on the brunette's lips, before blushing. "I certainly wouldn't have done that in Vegas."

Sara frowned as she watched Catherine walk ahead of her and in to the restaurant. She tilted her head and raised her hand to her lips; they burned. Shaking her head she slowly followed Catherine inside, and tried to push the kiss to the back of her mind. It certainly didn't mean what she wanted it to mean; _did it?_

"This is actually really good." Catherine smiled, piling another spoonful of her lunch in to her mouth.

"See," Sara scoffed, "It's not 'Frank's' but it's alright!"

A noise attracted Sara to the window of the restaurant. A large Truck screeched to a halt and four largely built men piled out and in through the front door. Catherine reached for her belt, but was stopped by Sara who grabbed her wrist to stop any attention being attracted to the table.

"GET ON THE FLOOR NOW!" One man shouted before retrieving a pistol from his own belt.

Upon seeing the gun he wielded, the entire restaurant hit the floor. Two of the men walked around the restaurant, inspecting the men, women and children, cowering for the lives. Catherine and Sara watched everything, taking in every accent, twitch, and action that the men before them exhibited.

"THERE ARE TWO BUSIES IN HERE." The first man shouted, "WHERE ARE THE BUSIES?"

Catherine looked at Sara with as much confusion as the face that stared back. "Busy?"

"BUSIES, COPPERS, FISHING RODS, PITTSBURGH STEELERS!" he shouted again.

"Oh wait," Sara whispered, "There's this thing, Cockney Rhyming Slang, people in London use weird words instead of the real words," musing for a moment, "Fishing Rods... PC Plods? Police?" Fright wiped any colour on Sara's face out.

"Us?" Catherine gasped.

"YOU TWO!" unnoticed by both women, the shouting man had overheard them talking. "GET UP!"

Sara and Catherine did as they were told and stood slowly. The man stood before them grabbed at Catherine's arm.

"Get off her!" Sara yelled, pulling his hand from around Catherine's wrist.

"GOT THEM!" He shouted to the rest of the men, "COUPLE OF YANKS! AND THIS ONE'S HOT!"

"Don't you have a volume button?" Catherine winced as she shouted in her ears.

"Think you're funny do you?" He grimaced as he threw Catherine to the floor. She looked up slowly and Sara's heart stopped upon seeing blood seeping slowly from her forehead. "Not laughing now are you?"


	6. Chapter 6

_**Hey! I've had a lot of encouragement of the last few days to get this next bit done! All of you who added my story or myself to your favourites, I thank you, and so should anyone else reading this story as it's because of them that this next bit is up! I've been a naughty girl this week, and while I should have been working, I've actually been writing! The bit after this is being written as we speak, however I have a sixteen hour shift today so don't expect it today! **_

_**Anyway, thank you for all the awesome encouragement! Particular thanks to the nice review I received from Izzi12 :)**_

A crimson droplet hit the tiled floor beneath Catherine as she shook her head in attempt to regain some composure.

"You fucking asshole!" Sara yelled as she tried in vain to attack the well-built cockney in front of her.

"Shut it you!" came the reply as he shook her from him, "unless you want a matching one!"

"Argh! Fuck you!" Sara screamed throwing imperfect punches and missing him with every one.

"Sara!" Catherine scolded, "leave it, I'm fine." as she got to her knees, she took a deep breath in a vain attempt to stop the world from  
>Spinning. "you don't silence us that easily." she remarked with scorn.<p>

Another one of the men quickly approached and forcefully put his hand easily around her slender neck.

"Silence isn't what we're here for darlin'," he grimaced as she gasped for air, her feet dangling easily a few inches from the floor.

"Get off her!" Sara growled as she was hauled back by the first man and thrown to the floor to mirror Catherine's first fall.

"SHUT IT DYKE!" the first man yelled as Sara looked up at him from the floor. Uninjured, she jumped back up and threw a fist at the man holding Catherine by the throat, this time hitting him directly in the back of the head. He dropped the older woman who lay on the tiles, gasping for air.

"Ah, you want to play, bitch?" he smiled, seemingly unfased by the attack. Sara pulled out her gun and held it straight ahead of her, aiming at the man advancing towards her. She wasn't going to shoot, but they didn't know that, right?

"Don't move!" she shouted, fear evident in her voice.

"Sara," Catherine tried quietly, only to be ignored.

"Come on then," he coaxed, "shoot, I dare you."

"Sara!" Catherine squealed, "look out!"

Sara spun around, only to receive a blow to the waist. She hit the floor, her gun spinning across the tiles until it hit the foot of one of the men who picked it up. A prickling sensation developed at Saras waist, quickly followed by a hot pain shed never experienced before.

Catherine was immediately at her side, taking off her jacket. As she attempted to see the damage, she was pushed away only to chastise the brunette as only a mother could.

"Sara, you need to let me see!" Catherine chided, before catching a glimpse of the hot red mess that made its way to the floor. "Sara, let me lift up your shirt please." she started carefully. Sara slowly moved to allow Catherine access. A sharp intake of breath alerted Sara to the seriousness of her injury. Catherine paled. "Sara, I'm going to have to apply some pressure here, I'll use my jacket, ok?" she received only a nod. Catherine was only half aware of the bickering that was taking place behind her as two of the men argued as to whether or not it had been a 'good idea' to stab the 'police bird'.

The blood soaked through the Summer jacket quickly, and Sara began passing in and out of consciousness.

"what do you want from us?" Catherine squealed at the men who were huddled together, now all arguing.

The second man walked towards them slowly .

"Your investigation," he started, "what do you know?" the other three men silenced and waited quietly for an answer.

"Not a lot if I'm completely honest." Catherine finally answered.

"Don't lie to me bitch." the man warned.

"I'm not lying, all we know Is that the perp is British, and our case notes matched a few from London." Catherine was panicked; she knew he wouldn't believe that that was all they knew, but she couldn't physically give him any more. She needed to take care of Sara; she'd only just realised that she needed her in her life, she couldn't lose her like this.

"May I remind you, that not only do we have a knife, but we now have a gun too." he threatened.

"I don't know anything more!" Catherine wailed, tears willingly falling down her cheeks. She'd forgotten about her own safety, the only thing that she was concerned about now, was Sara.

"I think she might be telling the truth Bill." said another man.

_bill... I'll save that for later,_ thought Catherine before cradling Sara's head as her eyes started to roll. "stay with me Sara," she said quietly, "you can't leave me, not now I've realised I love you." the words came out before she even had a chance to think about them. She didn't even think about them after she'd said them either. It was natural. Almost as if the words were meant to be there.

"So I was right?" laughed the man they now knew as bill, "HEY! We've got ourselves a hot lesbian couple!"

"how dare you!" Catherine got up and advanced towards the men, "I'm not a lesbian for lecherous men like you to watch!"

"Oh we'll I am sorry. It's a shame though," bill smiled a hideous smile, as he lifted his hand to caress her cheek. She burned with anger, and his fingertips touching her skin only fuelled that fire, "a hot little thing like you, some bloke must've really done damage to you."

Catherine flipped. The switch in her mind that had been threatening to turn itself on the entire time they'd been there had been triggered. Her eyes darkened and her fists clenched.

"don't you dare touch me! You know nothing of my past!" she almost screamed as she pulled out her gun and fired four shots. Bill staggered backwards for a moment before his eyes rolled back in his head and he hit the floor. Two of the men tried to approach his lifeless body before realising that Catherine still wielded a gun and scarpered. The other man had left before the last shot had been fired.

She dropped the gun on the floor and her legs gave way beneath her, Landing her beside Sara's rigid frame.

_**Short! I know! And I don't REALLY hate them! :D Thank you for reading! xxx**_


	7. Chapter 7

**So it's been a while, I know, but here it is; the next chapter! *fanfare* I hope you enjoy it, I'm on a bit of a roll this weekend so you may get more of this or you may get something completely different! Thank you for all the support, you guys are ace! **

**Warning, sexy-time occurs in this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

"_Stay with me Sara, you can't leave me; not now I've realised I love you." _

_Blue eyes met brown before Sara fell unconscious._

Catherine watched impatiently as Sara struggled noisily against her blankets again. She had spent the last twenty nine hours waiting at her bedside. She knew that Sara was going to be alright, she just wished she could help her frighten away her demons. Cooing softly, she managed to calm Sara slightly, and was brushing the hair from her face when she was interrupted.

"Have you slept yet?"

Catherine spun around to find the delicate Liz watching from the doorway.

"I slept at the crime scene." Catherine stated matter-of-factly, turning back to brush her fingers through Sara's hair absent-mindedly.

"You _passed out_ at the crime scene," Liz corrected, "it's _not_ the same thing."

The red-head smiled weakly and sat back down pushing her hair back.

"I'm fine."

"Gil said you'd say that." Liz grinned, "I just spoke to him." She moved to sit beside the exhausted woman, "You need some sleep, Sara's fine."

"I want to be here when she wakes up." Catherine finally admitted, tears pricking her eyes.

"So curl up here," Liz smiled putting an arm around Catherine's back, "Come on, put your head on my legs, I'll wake you up if Sara stirs."

Catherine did as she was told, knowing that she wasn't doing any one any favours in the state she was currently in. It didn't take long for Catherine to drift off, and Liz found herself rubbing circles on her back. She could see the bruising beginning to show on her neck, and the cut on her forehead looked sore. She had never had children, and it was times like this that she enjoyed taking the maternal role. She wondered if the incident had helped Catherine understand what she was feeling for Sara. The selfish part of her wanted Catherine to deny everything, so she could step in and be Sara's 'comfort' for an evening, but the realistic side of her knew that she couldn't get in the way of theirlove.

"Catherine?" A broken voice cut through the silent hospital room. Liz had fallen asleep with Catherine curled up on her knee, but it was Catherine who awoke first. Jumping up from her position she immediately found herself at Sara's side.

"I'm here, Sara," the older woman smiled, taking hold of one of Sara's long hands, "It's OK, I'm here."

Sara smiled through her pain.

"I'm alive." She grinned for second.

Liz stayed on the settee but smiled tearfully at the intense sight she saw before her. There was no way she could allow herself to get in the way of this love. She forgot all about her own lustful thoughts for a while and found herself relishing the love story that she saw unfold. Catherine sobbed an exhausted sob and smiled.

"Yes you are!" She cried.

"I couldn't leave you." Sara whispered, her eyes sparkling.

**XXX**

A week had passed and neither woman had spoken of their feelings. Catherine was worried that it would look like she was taking advantage of an injured woman, and Sara was just generally not too good with the emotional displays.

The hot water burned Sara's side a little but it was good to finally shower. She was careful around her wound but managed to wash everywhere else with ease. She was finally feeling human again and looked forward to be able to return to the London Crime Lab. She stepped out of the shower carefully and looked through the steam, only to discover she hadn't picked up a towel.

"Shit." She cursed quietly whilst trying to work out what she could do. The towel was on her bed, and Catherine was in there.

"Is everything OK in there?" Catherine shouted through the door upon hearing the brunette's cursing.

"Yeah! Every thing's fine!" Sara shouted back, "Shit, why didn't I just say I needed a towel?"

Sara paced carefully for a moment before a wicked thought struck her. Catherine had never seen her after she'd showered, how would she know that she didn't just walk around naked?

Maybe the pain medication was kicking in.

She pursed her lips in amusement and opened the bathroom door, trying to look as confident as she could in her own skin. She felt Catherine's gaze on her immediately and she cocked an eyebrow. She used the towel from her bed to dry her hair, but never once covered up. She felt liberated.

"Er, Sara?" Catherine finally coughed.

"Yeah?" Sara smirked.

"Don't you think you should put some clothes on?" The older woman blushed and looked away for a second before sneaking another glance.

"You don't have to look." Sara raised both eyebrows and grinned her famous gap-toothed grin.

"Are you kidding?" Catherine laughed, "You don't see what I see."

Sara sat on the edge of her bed and slid her jeans on but struggled with the fastening. She couldn't' get the angle quite right without hurting herself. Catherine got up and motioned for her to stand, reluctantly, Sara did as she was told. The older woman ran her fingers a long the top of the waist band eliciting a whimper from Sara in response before taking her fingers lower, to button the bottom button. Sara stood, top naked, biting her lip as the redhead fumbled with her buttons, tensing every time her fingers accidently brushed lightly behind the fabric. Catherine straightened up once she had finished with her buttons, a blush creeping dangerously up her neck. She could see Sara's chest heaving and took a moment to watch as a similar blush crept up Sara's neck.

"Thank you." Sara finally spoke, her voice low with lust.

"No," Catherine grinned, "Thank you. You just gave me the response I needed in order to know whether or not I could do this."

Before Sara could reply, Catherine's lips were heavy on her own. She melted in to the kiss. She'd imagined it a million times before but nothing could have prepared her for the intensity of this kiss. Tongues crashed and fought for dominance. Neither woman had thought about the possibility that their power struggle would continue in to the bedroom.

Catherine finally gave, and Sara took control; Stripping Catherine of her T shirt so that their lack of clothing was nearly equal. She pushed the older woman on to the bed behind her and looked at her for a short moment. She had never seen someone so beautiful. Catherine was nearly fifty, yet she still held the body of a lithe thirty year old and Sara was gobsmacked. Lowering herself on top of the older woman carefully she smiled under heavy lids and ran her fingers along Catherine's cheekbone.

"You're extremely aesthetically pleasing." She drawled to a squirming Catherine.

Catherine bit a lip and undid her hard work on Sara's jeans in one smooth movement.

Sara took control again and pinned Catherine's hands to the bed before running soft butterfly kisses down her bruised neck, and coming to rest on her clavicle. She inspected the bruising for a moment before planting a number of small soft kisses along the lines. The porcelain chest beneath her heaved and shivered as Sara began her journey again on the other side, this time coming to rest a little lower before taking a nipple in to her mouth.

"Sar-, Sara," Catherine stammered, "Sara, I, I've never had sex with a woman."

Sara stopped her ministrations to look at her lover. Her kind smile relaxed Catherine's nerves a little.

"Just relax," Sara whispered, "I promise you'll enjoy it." Catherine whimpered and closed her eyes as Sara's mouth once again found its way to her rose pink nipples. The older woman bucked beneath her attempting to apply some pressure to the heat building up between her thighs. It didn't go unnoticed and Sara pulled her trousers and underwear off with ease, leaving Catherine completely vulnerable below her. Sara faltered a moment; this was it, there'd be absolutely no turning back after this. She looked at her lover's face. Pure need stared back at her and it was enough to make up her mind.

Taking the first tentative touches elicited a fiery response in Catherine. The brunette smiled as she got to know the folds below her before driving herself inside.

"Fuck!" Catherine cried arching her back and gasping for air. "Oh God Sara!" Sara felt her own heat developing at the sounds her lover was making. "I've waited so long for this!"

As Sara's thrusts began to speed up Sara laughed a guttural laugh and leant in close.

"I've waited eight years."

**I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you liked/disliked etc and let's hope you don't have to wait too long for the next bit! xxx**


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